The Scallop Lamp takes obvious inspiration from sea shells and is quite an interesting design. Besides being a floor lamp for ornamental purposes, it doubles up as a flashlight! The top projection detaches to become the handy torch during lights-out. Now that’s what I call really clever designing! It looks chic, has dual purpose and makes total sense!

Hip hop is a rich culture that has deep meaning to those who live it. By interviewing DJs, MCs, B-boys and Graffiti artists involved in the hip hop community, designer Vanessa Chew create a series of table pieces called Scratching Beneath The Surface. It’s energetic and expressive, modern and emotive, just like hip hop.

Conventional clothing racks and hooks all have the same problem. They’re not visually appealing and almost always leave annoying marks and indentations on clothing. The TRUform clothing rack distributes load evenly while supporting clothing leaving knits, jackets, and t-shirts completely unmarred. I like the modern simplicity of the design.

Love this project called Snow Dust. Dust is an inevitable reality, one that we usually sweep away in annoyance but this designer chose to embrace it. A series of everyday household objects like a fan, shutters, and lampshade are constructed to a complex geometric pattern designed to collect dust. Something that is supposed to be gross and dirty is suddenly highlighted and transformed into natural art, unpredictable and possibly beautiful.

It takes a person with true passion for his comic collectables and movie memorabilia to commission a whole display solution worthy of his prized possessions. The Collection Unit is a beautiful wood and steel cabinet designed and built by Flying Cavalries. The surface is intricately laser engraved with details so clear, it’s a little jaw dropping. It’s not our usual cup of tea but I appreciate the workmanship. Image how this looks at night lit up.

The Kitchen Hideaway is a peep into what food prep might be like in the future. A helmet and viewport allow you to image what it is you want to eat in your own virtual kitchen. Gone are the large appliances replaced by efficient robots that serve every gluttonous desire. You have to actually know how to cook the dish. The robots are only mimicking your technique. The technology is so life-like, it’s indistinguishable from the real thing. This is the Jetsons people. Even George would be jealous.

As I hit my head to the pillow at night, a thousand things rummage through my head; my next proposal, next-day schedule, unfinished business and most of the times end up getting outta bed to write some notes for the next day. How sweet it would be if I had a notepad and the Write? Light! on my bedside table. It is a lamp that gives off a glow powerful enough to jot down a quick memo. And the way it works is darn cute; kinda like the inkwell and feather effect! Pick up the pencil to light-up; place it back to turn it off. Simple and awesome!

I quite agree with designer Won Seok Choi when he says that every appearance has its meaning. For example a regular plug gives the vibe that it’s easy to push it into the socket and when we compare that to the Plug In & Out, which is an intuitive design, we get this feel that it’s an easy plug to pull out. In a very subtle way, his design makes us conscious of unplugging the cords, coz it saves us from wasting electricity.

Breaking from the conventional norm of a wood or metal trap that is aesthetically jarring on your design-sensibilities, the OneDown Rat Trap brings in a breath of fresh air into how we trap our pesky pests. Designer Aakash Dewan camouflages the trap as a tippled vase that stands upright once the pest has been lured to the bait sitting inside. As a tall-mouthed vase, the rat can’t climb out and you find a humane way of disposing the creature, far away from your backyard and deep into the woods!

The Senzo Nightlight is a very sweet intuitive light that is fitted on the wall, 80 centimeters above the floor. This specific position is so that both children and adults can touch it conveniently in the darkness. Let me explain, at night if you don’t have the lights on, you usually reach out to feel for the walls to get your bearings and then move forward. Fingertips skimming the walls till you reach the door, that’s the inspiration behind this design. So as you walk past touching the tube, a soft lighting follows you.

Agility and sensitivity are the two prerequisites for an accomplished chef. What will enhance the performance of even the most established professional is a system that can minimize the clusterfuck of seasoning. Cruet showcases a neat, streamlined container set design with generously diverse color schemes and types to be used in the kitchen. The smooth elegant contour of the container – a reminder of the conventional milk bottle – offers the chef a good grip; comfortable yet an intriguing aesthetic sensation.

Solo is a playfully interactive storage box with randomly placed cubes as handles totaling 36 drawers in varying lengths. The drawers are strategically placed to maximize storage. Inspired by architecture and typography, the design has even spawned its own eponymous font. I love how the piece demands attention. It’s bold but still tasteful. It looks like something the Riddler would have in his lair – a brain teaser just to find your socks.

Designer Cho Hyung Suk has an affinity for bicycle chains – for their utilitarian function and seemingly beauty. The B-Chain Lamp spins the bike chain into a new kind of object, one that is rigid enough to pose a light into various positions. There’s something oddly anthropomorphic about this design – maybe because it halfway reminds me of the Pixar Lamp.